Scientists May Be Able To Switch Off Hunger In The Brain

Trending News: Scientists May Have Just Found A Way To Switch Off Hunger

Why Is This Important?

Because you’re hungry. So damned hungry.

Long Story Short

Scientists have identified the brain cells which create the sensation of hunger.

Long Story

Look alive, homeboy: a team of researchers from Harvard Medical School and Edinburgh University have identified the brain cells which create the sensation of hunger, revealing a promising new target for the development of weight-loss drugs. High fives!

Key to their findings was a brain circuit known as melanoncortin 4 receptor-regulated (MC4R) — the set of cells that controls the desire to eat. By switching on the cells in a group of mice, the scientists stopped hunger (interestingly, they could also switch them off, increasing hunger).

The technique involved genetically engineering mice so that their MC4R pathway from the hypothalamus to the back of the brain could be turned on with light. Pulling this stunt might be a little harder in humans, but the scientists believe the results create "a promising new target for the development of weight-loss drugs.”

The research, published in the journal Nature Neuroscience, follows on from previous work that already demonstrated a group of MC4R-expressing neurons in the hypothalamus regulated body weight and feeding.

Interestingly, turning on the cells not only stopped the hunger but also created a sensation of pleasure. "One reason that dieting is so difficult is because of the unpleasant sensation arising from a persistent hunger drive," explained the study's co-senior author Bradford Lowell, MD, PhD in a statement. “Our results show that the artificial activation of this particular brain circuit is pleasurable and can reduce feeding in mice, essentially resulting in the same outcome as dieting but without the chronic feeling of hunger."

No word on when a drug might be developed, though. So not so fast on chucking out those dieting books.

Own The Conversation

Ask The Big Question: Outside of those with chronic health problems, is this really the way we want to be going, with a drug for everything we’re too lazy to solve ourselves?